Fire stop for elevator doors



May 3, 1932 H. c. WALDMAN 1,856,895

FIRE STOP FOR ELEVATOR DOORS Filed May 10, 1929 @13' rj; 4) {ZI} WwW/X K Z-/v VEN 7 0 R Her/wan Wr/dm dn TTORNEV Patented May 3, 1932 PATENr .Her-MAN e .Wei-.Dreef 0r Se Levis., weaver FIRE sfror Fon nLnve'roR Dooas l Application filed May 10, 1829. `Sera/1 No. 361,914.

.This invention relates to eounterbalanced re doors for elevator shafts, .oi the type in whieh the top and bottom sections .of .the door are .arranged in parallel relation to each other,

6 but in .ditterent vertical planes, so as to provide a space between the top section ,of the door and the lintel of the door `opening that will receive V.the bottom section .of a vertically-,aligned door, of the same type, located on the ioor above, when said upper door is moved into its `open position.-

One `object of my .present invention is to provide a fire -stop for-.the ,space between :the hntel .of .the .door .opening .and the topsection ofthe door, that is inexpensive .to vbuild and installwffsuoh designithat it avillnot obstruct the door opening, and .of .such .construction thatin .the .event ofa lire, it willeectively prevent air, .smoke .or ,a .llame -rom escaping from .the elevatorshaft ,in-to .the room,.or vice versa.

Another .object is `.to provide a Vlire door structurefofgthegeneral,typementionedthat is equipped with afiirestopofcnovel construction, ,which .is-.normally maintainedin an linactive. oriinopera-tiveposition by a `fusible device, which, in the event of a re, will release saidstep .and permitai-tftomove automatically into such a :position @that ,-air, -fre .or smoke cannot circulate upwardly throughthe Space between .the `linteland the ltop ,section ofthe (leonie-r. even over the upper,.edge of. the top seetion ofthe door.

Another .Object .is to fprovide a fire .door structure.1 oi l the general type mentioned, :in whichitbeftopsection of the door. has oscillatingly mounted thereon avire stop, which is @french .designfth-at it .will .notinterfere With the= .downwardm@vement of fthe bottom section of the door located at the floor-above, inv-the-event saidupper door ismoved into itsgopengposition.

.And .Stillranother .obj ect of. my. invention.- is tio-provide a counter-balanced Vfire doort for elevaterishaftsvhoseftep Section is equipped witharoekable .01'.y oscillating refstop, which, whenarranged in its .ope1;ative position, cuts )ily the circulation ofair,gllame or;- gases between-,said pensee-tion and the lintel. 0f 'the @heropening,andelso upwardlythrough the guides at the side edges of .the door .in .which the door travels. .Otherobj ects and desirable featuresof my invention will be hereinafter pointed out. i

Figure "l of .the `drawings is a sectional View, illustrating .an elevator' lire 4door of .the counterbalanced type equipped with a fire stop constructed in aocdrdanoe .with my invention, sho-wing said lire stolp arranged in itsinadtive .or inoperative position.

Figure .2 isa similar'view, showing said lirestop arranged in its operative position.

Figure 3 is .a top plan view' of said V tire stop, illustrating said Vstop in its operative position.-

Figuree isa fragmentary front elevational view of `said fire stop, illustrating said stop in its .inoperative position ,and

Figure` 5 is aview similarlto Figure l, illustrating amodiication Voit my invention.

ln the acoompanyingdawings which illustratelthe ypreferred form ofmy invention, A designates .the ltop section .of a counterbalanced liredoor, and B .designates-the lintel of theopeningfwhich said door doses, the `top 7 section of. the door being spaded away .from said llintel, i so Aas .to provide a space .for receivinglthebottom se'otionlC oi' the verticallyaligned doorflocated .atthefloor above when saidfbott'om sectionis ino-ved downwardly, so

as to open saidupper door. Thetop section A of the,doorzis'providedwith afire stop LD, formed `preferably by .a flat metal .plate `or strip Lthatis hinged or .pivotallyconnected tothe upper edge .of saidtop section Ain such a waythatit can' assume a vertical or .ll-prightposition, as @shown in full lines in Figureghnlor assume a horizontal position, hereinafter referredto asits operative position,.a`s shown inf'full; lines infFigure' 2. Any suitabler4 means can [be ,used for pivotally mountinglthegtop=D .on thetozp section A of;y the. do.or,butf preferito use. hinge-sl l that are attaohedfto. said. stop and. to van anglefQ, which is fastened tothe.ilpperfedgeof the topsectionof the door. )The hingesl may either' be of the4 type. shownin-,-Figures 1 kand 2 that.- comprise twoflat; leaves one .of which isiattaclled-.te the allele 2 and-the. other t0 .the smal), theymay be. of thedvpe` .s hwn. in

Figure 5, wherein the leaves or portions la of the hinges that are attached to the angle 2 on the door are substantially L-shaped.

Normally, the lire stop D is maintained in its inoperative position shown in Figure l by means of a fusible device or fuse link E of any preferred type, arranged so as to serve as a retaining device or securing device for the lower edge portion of the fire stop D, thereby holding said fire stop in such a position that it will not interfere with the downward movement of the bottom section C of the door located at the floor above. In the event of a fire the link or other fusible device E ruptures or breaks, whereupon the stop D will swing automatically into its operative positionshown in Figure 2. The stop D can be rockably mounted on the top section A of the door in such a way that gravity causes said stop to move into its operative position as soon as the fusible element E breaks and releases said stop, or, if desired, any other suitable means may be used to move the stop into its operative position, in the event of a lire. I prefer to attach an angle 3 t-o the edge of the stop D in such a way that it not only serves as a counterweight to automatically move said stop into its operative position when the fusible element E ruptures, but it also serves as a. means to prevent air, fire or smoke from circulating through the space between the upper edge of the door section A and the stop D. As shown in Figure 2, the movement of the stop D into its operative position causes the angle 3 on said stop to be arranged in overlapping relationship with the upper edge portion of the door section A, thereby serving as a closure for the space between the stoptD and the angle 2 at the upper edge of the door section A on which said stop is mounted. In order to produce a tight joint between kthe other edge of the stop D and the portion of the wall of the elevator shaft located above the lintel B, a gasket 4, formed preferably of a fire-proof, flexible material or fabric, is attached to the free edge of the stop D, as shown in the drawings.

"The lire stop D is normally held in its inoperative position, or in an upright position, wherein it does not interferel with the downward movement of the bottom section C of the door located at the floor above. In order, however, that said stop will not interfere with the downward movement of the door section C, in the event the door of which said section C forms a part is opened when the lire stop D is in its operative position, a tripping device 5, formed preferably by an inclined or cam-shaped member, is attached to the lower edge of the door section C in such a way that it is capable of co-acting with the stop D to move said stop out of the way, or cause it to tilt and swing out of the path of the door section C in the event said door section is moved downwardly when the stop D is in its operative position, all as shown in Figure 2. Preferably, the stop D is provided at its ends with extensions 6, shown in Figure 3, which are so proportioned and arranged that when said stop moves into its operative position, the extensions 6 at the ends of same will be positioned horizontally in the stationary side guides 7 in which the door section A travels, thereby serving as closures for said guides, which prevent air, smoke and re from circulating upwardly through said guides.

A fire stop of the above described construction is inexpensive to build, it is easy to install and it does not obstruct the door opening. Normally, said stop is held in an inactive or inoperative position out of the path of the door section C by a fusible element E, but in the event of a fire, said fusible element breaks, thereby permitting the stop D to swing into its operative position shown in Figure 2. lVhen said stop is arranged in its operative position it effectively prevents air, smoke or llame from circulating upwardly through the space between the lintel and the top section A of the door, or circulating upwardly through the channel-shaped side guides in which said door section travels, and the depending portion 3 on said stop that laps over the door section A prevents air, smoke or fire from circulating through the space between said stop and the upper edge of the door section A. In the event the door located at the Hoor above is opened when the stop D is in its operative position, the tripping device 5 on the bottom section C of said upper door engages the stop D and moves said stop out of the path of the door section C, and when said door section C is moved upwardly back to its normal position, the stop D returns automatically to the position shown in full lines in Figure 2.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. An elevator fire door structure, comprising a top door section spaced away from the lintel of the door opening, so as to form a passageway for a vertically-aligned door located at a higher level, and a fire stop rockably mounted on said top door section and provided with portions that lap over the top edge and the adjacent outer surface of said door section when said stop is in its operative position.

2. An elevator fire door structure, comprising a top door section spaced away from the wall in which the door opening is located, a fire stop oscillatingly mounted on the upper edge portion of said door section and formed from a substantially flat plate that covers the top edge of said door sec-tion when the re stop is in vits operative position, and an angle attached to said plate so as to form a depending part in said plate that laps over a vertical Jface of said door section when the fire stop is in its operative position.

3. An elevator re door structure, comprising a top door section spaced away from the wall in which the door opening is located, substantially channel-shaped guides for said door section arranged at the side ed es of same, a fire stop rockably mounted on t e top door section and provided with portions that cover the top edge and the adjacent portion of the outer face of said door section when the fire stop is in its operative position, and means on said stop for preventing re,s1noke and the like from circulating through the guides at the side edges of the door section.`

4. In an elevator lire door structure, the combination of a top door section spaced away from the lintel of the door opening, a hinged lire stop attached to the top edge of said top door section and provided with a flexible gasket that is adapted to contact with the wall of the elevator shaft and produce a tight joint between said wall and ire stop when said stop is in its operative position,

and a part on said stop that is adapted to lap over the outer Jface of said top door section so as to prevent gases, air or the like from circulating between said stop and the top door section when said stop is in its operative position.

HERMAN C. WALDMAN. 

